Johannesburg, 25 Jun 2003
Novell`s ZENWorks policy-based management suite, now in its sixth release, has been honoured with accolades from top analysts and peers in the IT industry.
In Gartner`s 2003 Desktop Software Distribution Magic Quadrant, Novell`s ZENWorks for Desktops was placed in the leaders` quadrant for the first time. Furthermore, at the 2003 Codie Awards, sponsored by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), Novell ZENWorks for Desktops was voted Best Systems Management Tool.
Rhys Taylor, marketing and sales director of local Novell partner and software development house PreWorX, says Novell has built up a ZENWorks user base of close on 38 million users.
"It has accomplished this by ensuring its software incorporates best-of-breed applications to provide users with the reliable management tools they need." PreWorX was selected to provide preboot services for the ZENWorks platform a number of years ago. "The relationship has worked well for both parties and the current implementation sees PreWorX`s technology fully integrated into ZENWorks for Desktops, the dominant desktop management solution in the market," says Taylor.
More than merely being included in a leading management suite, Novell has provided PreWorX with access to 38 million desktops. "The recent release of the PreWorX Preboot Services Toolkit is aimed at this huge market and will provide further services to ZEN users at the preboot level," notes Taylor.
The toolkit extends the current preboot functionality in ZENWorks for Desktops by enabling users to create and modify the ZEN boot images; create and edit preboot menus; and control the menus, processes and images in the preboot state from a remote console. Taylor explains that current users do not have this added flexibility, with only one process and a standard menu being available remotely in preboot.
"The toolkit will provide us with the opportunity to further extend our capabilities into the ZEN user base, and also open our preboot technology to third-party imaging applications as well as BIOS upgrades, preboot virus scans or diagnostic checks, among others."
One of the changes Novell has made over the years is that ZENWorks for Desktops users no longer need a Novell client. According to Gartner, "with this major change, ZENWorks for Desktops has made strong inroads in non-Novell customers, demonstrating that the suite offers comprehensive desktop configuration management and strong directory management (via Novell`s e-Directory) for policy-based distribution."
"This move also proved beneficial to PreWorX as we were able to gain exposure to many new users on various platforms, opening the door to a broader base of opportunities," adds Taylor. "This has been a powerful move for PreWorX, enabling us to make inroads into international markets faster than we would have via a standalone product."